Transmitter, display, shutter eyeglass device, transmission/reception system, display system and transmission/reception method

ABSTRACT

There are provided a transmitter, a display, a shutter eyeglass device, a transmission/reception system, a display system and a transmission/reception method allowed to achieve highly reliable communication between a transmission side and a reception side. The transmitter includes: a transmission section holding plural kinds of commands each represented by a plurality of bits and repeatedly transmitting a command set, the command set being configured of one or more kinds of commands which are selected from the plural kinds of commands and combined in predetermined order, in which a bit pattern representing a whole of the command set is the same as a bit pattern held in a receiver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/932,240, filed on Feb. 22, 2011, which claims priority from JapanesePatent Application No. JP 2010-045805 filed in the Japanese PatentOffice on Mar. 2, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a transmission/reception system and adisplay system using a receiver such as a shutter eyeglass device, and atransmitter, a shutter eyeglass device, a display and atransmission/reception method which are suitably used in such systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, display systems allowed to achieve stereoscopic displayhave attracted attention. One of such display systems is a displaysystem using a shutter eyeglass device. In the display system, aleft-eye picture stream and a right-eye picture stream which have aparallax therebetween are alternately displayed on a display in atime-divisional manner, and switching of open/close states of a left-eyeshutter and a right-eye shutter in the shutter eyeglass device iscontrolled in synchronization with switching timing between the picturestreams (display timings). When such switching is repeated, a viewer isallowed to perceive a picture configured of the pictures as astereoscopic picture with a depth.

Typically, such switching of open/close states of the left-eye shutterand the right-eye shutter in the shutter eyeglass device is controlledin response to a shutter control signal supplied from a display asdescribed in Video Electronics Standards Association, “VESA StandardConnector and Signal Standards for Stereoscopic Display Hardware”,Version 1, Nov. 5, 1997. In a method of controlling a shutter eyeglassdevice in Video Electronics Standards Association, “VESA StandardConnector and Signal Standards for Stereoscopic Display Hardware”,Version 1, Nov. 5, 1997, as a shutter control signal, a signal with aduty ratio of 50% is used. Then, when a level signal of the shuttercontrol signal is in a high level, the left-eye picture stream iscontrolled to be displayed on the display and the left-eye shutter ofthe shutter eyeglass device is controlled to be opened, and when thelevel signal is in a low level, the right-eye picture stream iscontrolled to be displayed on the display and the right-eye shutter ofthe shutter eyeglass device is controlled to be opened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an environment where the above-described display system is used,typically, for example, radio signals (such as infrared signals) usedfor remote control of other electronic devices are frequentlytransmitted around. Therefore, in the display system, a shutter controlsignal transmitted from the display (a transmission side) to the shuttereyeglass device (a reception side) may be affected by such an externalsignal to include noise (external noise). The shutter control signalincluding external noise causes a malfunction or the like on thereception side, and it is difficult to achieve highly reliablecommunication.

In methods of controlling a shutter eyeglass device in related artincluding the above-described technique in Video Electronics StandardsAssociation, “VESA Standard Connector and Signal Standards forStereoscopic Display Hardware”, Version 1, Nov. 5, 1997, measuresagainst such external noise are not taken, or they are not sufficient;therefore, it is desirable to propose a technique allowed to improvereliability of communication.

It is desirable to provide a transmitter, a display, a shutter eyeglassdevice, a transmission/reception system, a display system and atransmission/reception method which are allowed to achieve highlyreliable communication between a transmission side and a reception side.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided atransmitter including: a transmission section holding plural kinds ofcommands each represented by a plurality of bits and repeatedlytransmitting a command set, the command set being configured of one ormore kinds of commands which are selected from the plural kinds ofcommands and combined in predetermined order, in which a bit patternrepresenting a whole of the command set is the same as a bit patternheld in a receiver.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a displayincluding: a display section displaying pictures through switchingplural kinds of picture streams from one to another in order; and atransmission section transmitting a shutter control command representedby a plurality of bits to a shutter eyeglass device performing anopen/close operation in synchronization with switching timing betweenthe plural kinds of picture streams. The transmission section holdsplural kinds of the shutter control commands and repeatedly transmits acommand set, the command set being configured of one or more kinds ofshutter control commands which are selected from the plural kinds ofshutter control commands and combined in predetermined order. A bitpattern representing a whole of the command set is the same as a bitpattern held in the shutter eyeglass device.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a shuttereyeglass device including: a reception section receiving a command setfrom a display, the display holding plural kinds of shutter controlcommands each represented by a plurality of bits and repeatedlytransmitting the command set, the command set being configured one ormore kinds of shutter control commands which are selected from theplural kinds of shutter control commands and combined in predeterminedorder; a left-eye shutter and a right-eye shutter performing, based onthe received command set, an open/close operation in synchronizationwith switching timing between plural kinds of picture streams which areswitched, for displaying, from one to another in order; and a holdingsection holding the same bit pattern as a bit pattern representing awhole of the command set.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided atransmission/reception system including: the transmitter according tothe above-described embodiment of the invention; and the shuttereyeglass device according to the above-described embodiment of theinvention.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a displaysystem including: the display according to the above-describedembodiment of the invention; and the shutter eyeglass device accordingto the above-described embodiment of the invention.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided atransmission/reception method including steps of: in a transmitter,generating a command set configured of one or more kinds of shuttercontrol commands which are selected from plural kinds of shutter controlcommands each represented by a plurality of bits so that a bit patternrepresenting a whole of the command set is the same as a bit patternheld in a shutter eyeglass device, and repeatedly transmitting thecommand set; receiving the command set in the shutter eyeglass device;and allowing a left-eye shutter and a right-eye shutter in the shuttereyeglass device to perform, based on the received command set, anopen/close operation in synchronization with switching timing betweenplural kinds of picture streams in a display displaying pictures throughswitching the plural kinds of picture streams from one to another inorder.

In the transmitter, the display, the shutter eyeglass device, thetransmission/reception system, the display system and thetransmission/reception method according to the embodiment of theinvention, in the command set which is configured of one or more kindsof commands (or shutter control commands) selected from plural kinds ofcommands and is repeatedly transmitted from the transmitter (or atransmission section), the bit pattern representing a whole of thecommand set is the same as the bit pattern held in the receiver (or theshutter eyeglass device). Therefore, when a signal including the commandset is transmitted from a transmission side to a reception side, on thereception side, it is easy to determine whether the command set includesexternal noise.

In the transmitter, the display, the shutter eyeglass device, thetransmission/reception system, the display system and thetransmission/reception method according to the embodiment of theinvention, in the command set repeatedly transmitted from thetransmitter (or the transmission section), the bit pattern representingas a whole of the command set is the same as the bit pattern held in thereceiver (or the shutter eyeglass device); therefore, when a signalincluding the command set is transmitted from the transmission side tothe reception side, whether the command set includes external noise isallowed to be determined easily on the reception side. Therefore, theinfluence of such external noise is easily reduced or prevented, andhighly reliable communication between the transmission side and thereception side is achievable.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willappear more fully from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of adisplay system according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of adisplay illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating configuration examples of adisplay drive section and a display section illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating a configuration example of apixel illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of ashutter eyeglass device illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are illustrations of a configuration example of acommand used in the display system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views illustrating an operation example ofthe display system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example of a relationship between asynchronization control signal illustrated in FIG. 1 and transmissionmodes or the like.

FIG. 9 is a state transition diagram illustrating an operation exampleof the display system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart illustrating an operation example in a steadystate in the display system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart illustrating a command set and a bit patternin the operation example illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart illustrating an operation example in a startprocess in the display system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart illustrating an operation example in asuspension/end process in the display system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of adisplay system according to Modification 1 of the invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of adisplay system according to Modification 2 of the invention.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic views illustrating an operation exampleof the display system illustrated in FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in detailbelow referring to the accompanying drawings. Descriptions will be givenin the following order.

Embodiment (Example of a stereoscopic display system configured byincorporating a transmitter in a display)

Modifications

Modification 1 (Example of a stereoscopic display system configured byarranging a transmitter outside a display)

Modification 2 (Example of a multi-view system)

Embodiment Whole Configuration of Display System 1

FIG. 1 illustrates a whole configuration of a display system (a displaysystem 1) according to an embodiment of the invention. The displaysystem 1 is a stereoscopic display system performing stereoscopicdisplay by alternately displaying a left-eye picture stream and aright-eye picture stream which have a parallax therebetween in atime-divisional manner and controlling switching of open/close states ofleft and right shutters of a shutter eyeglass device in synchronizationwith switching (display timings) of the left-eye picture stream and theright-eye picture stream. The display system 1 includes a display 10 asa display according to an embodiment of the invention and a shuttereyeglass device 60 as a shutter eyeglass device (a receiver) accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

Specific Configuration of Display 10

The display 10 includes a signal processing section 20, a display drivesection 11, a display section 12, an audio amplification section 13, aspeaker 14 and a shutter control section 15. Based on an input signalDin including a stereoscopic picture signal, the display 10 displays apicture on the display section 12 and outputs sound from the speaker 14.Herein, the stereoscopic picture signal is a picture signal configuredby alternately arranging a left-eye picture stream and a right-eyepicture stream which have a parallax therebetween along a time axis.Note that the shutter control section 15 corresponds to a specificexample of “a transmitter” and “a transmission section” in theinvention.

Signal Processing Section 20

The signal processing section 20 generates a picture signal D1 includinga left-eye picture signal and a right-eye picture signal and an audiosignal D2 based on the input signal Din. The signal processing section20 also has a function of generating and outputting a signal forcontrolling the shutter control section 15. More specifically, as willbe described in detail later, a picture signal processing circuit (whichwill be described later) in the signal processing section 20 outputs asynchronization control signal Sync in synchronization with the left-eyepicture signal and the right-eye picture signal and supplies thesynchronization control signal Sync to the shutter control section 15.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the signal processing section 20 includes adigital tuner 21, an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) decoder 22, thepicture signal processing circuit 23, a graphic generation circuit 24,an audio signal processing circuit 25, an HDMI (High-DefinitionMultimedia Interface) receiver 26 and a network interface 27.

The digital tuner 21 selects a desired signal (stream) from broadcastwaves (corresponding to the input signal Din in FIG. 1) received by anantenna (not illustrated) and supplied through an antenna terminal TA.The MPEG decoder extracts a picture signal and an audio signal from thestream selected by the digital tuner 21.

The picture signal processing circuit 23 performs picture signalprocessing such as gamma processing, YUV-RGB conversion or sequentialframe output on the picture signal extracted by the MPEG decoder 22, andhas a function of generating the synchronization control signal Sync. Anoperation of generating the synchronization control signal Sync will bedescribed in detail later.

The graphic generation circuit 24 generates OSD (On Screen Display)information, and superimposes the OSD information on a picture suppliedfrom the picture signal processing circuit 23 to generate an outputsignal, and supplies the output signal as a picture signal D1 to thedisplay drive section 11. The audio signal processing circuit performsaudio signal processing such as surround processing on the audio signalextracted by the MPEG decoder to generate an output signal, and suppliesthe output signal as an audio signal D2 to the audio amplificationsection 13.

In the display 10 illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of signals inaddition to the above-described broadcast waves are allowed to beselected as the input signal Din. More specifically, as will bedescribed later, for example, a signal from an external apparatus such aBD (Blu-ray Disk) recorder or an IP (Internet Protocol) broadcast signalis allowed to be selected as the input signal Din.

The HDMI receiver 26 is a circuit receiving a signal supplied from anexternal apparatus (not illustrated) through an HDMI terminal TH. TheHDMI receiver 26 has a function of extracting a picture signal and anaudio signal from the received signal to supply the picture signal andthe audio signal to the picture signal processing circuit 23 and theaudio signal processing circuit 25, respectively.

The network interface 27 receives an IP broadcast signal suppliedthrough a network terminal TN connected to the Internet to supply thereceived IP broadcast signal to the MPEG decoder 22.

The signal processing section 20 further includes a memory 32, a flashROM 33 and a CPU 34 which are connected to one another through aninternal bus 31. The internal bus 31 is connected to the networkinterface 27. The signal processing section 20 further includes a remotecontrol reception section 35. The remote control reception section 35receives a remote control signal RS (for example, an infrared signal) asa command signal from an external remote control unit (not illustrated)to supply the remote control signal RS to the CPU 34.

Display Drive Section 11 and Display Section 12

In FIG. 1, the display drive section 11 is a circuit generating a drivesignal for driving the display section 12 based on the picture signal D1supplied from the signal processing section 20. The display section 12alternately displays the left-eye picture stream and the right-eyepicture stream in response to the drive signal supplied from the displaydrive section 11.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, configuration examples of the display drivesection 11 and the display section 12 will be described below. FIG. 3illustrates the configuration examples of the display drive section 11and the display section 12. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the displaysection 12 includes a liquid crystal display device 45 and a backlight46. Moreover, the display drive section 11 includes a timing controlsection 41, a gate driver 42, a data driver 43 and a backlight drivesection 44.

The liquid crystal display device 45 displays a picture based on a pixelsignal supplied from the data driver 43. In the liquid crystal displaydevice 45, pixels 50 are arranged in a matrix form.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, each of the pixels 50 includes a TFT (ThinFilm Transistor) element 51, a liquid crystal element 52 and a retentioncapacity element 53. The TFT element 51 is configured of, for example, aMOS-FET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor-Field Effect Transistor). A gate anda source of the TFT element 51 is connected to a gate line G and a dataline D, respectively, and a drain of the TFT element 51 is connected toone end of the liquid crystal element 52 and one end of a retentioncapacity element 53. The one end of the liquid crystal element 52 isconnected to the drain of the TFT element 51, and the other end of theliquid crystal element 52 is grounded. The one end of the retentioncapacity element 53 is connected to the drain of the TFT element 51, andthe other end of the retention capacity element 53 is connected to aretention capacity line Cs. In addition, the gate line G is connected tothe gate driver 42, and the data line D is connected to the data driver43.

The backlight 46 is a light source applying light to the liquid crystaldisplay device 45, and is configured with use of, for example, an LED(Light Emitting Diode) or a CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp).

The timing control section 41 controls drive timings of the gate driver42, the data driver 43 and the backlight drive section 44, and supplies,to the data driver 42, the picture signal D1 supplied from the signalprocessing section 20. The gate driver 42 selects the pixels 50 in theliquid crystal display device 45 on a column-by-column basis in responseto timing control by the timing control section 41 to performline-sequential scanning. The data driver 43 supplies a pixel signalbased on the picture signal D1 to each of the pixels 50 of the liquidcrystal display device 45. More specifically, the data driver 43performs D/A (digital/analog) conversion on the picture signal D1 togenerate a pixel signal which is an analog signal and then supplies thepixel signal to each of the pixels 50. The backlight drive section 44controls a lighting operation of the backlight 46 in response to timingcontrol by the timing control section 41.

With such a configuration, in the display section 12 the pixel signal issupplied from the data driver 43 to the pixel 50 selected by the gatedriver 42. As a result, light from the backlight 46 is modulated by theliquid crystal element 52 of the selected pixel 50. These operations areperformed on a display surface of the liquid crystal display device 45by line-sequential scanning to display a picture. The display section 12performs such a display operation on each of the left-eye picture signaland the right-eye picture signal alternately supplied to alternatelydisplay the left-eye picture stream and the right-eye picture stream ina time-divisional manner.

Audio Amplification Section 13 and Speaker 14

In FIG. 1, the audio amplification section 13 amplifies the audio signalD2 supplied from the signal processing section 20. The speaker 14outputs the audio signal amplified by the audio amplification section13.

Shutter Control Section 15

The shutter control section 15 generates a shutter control signal CTLbased on the synchronization control signal Sync supplied from thesignal processing section 20 to supply the shutter control signal CTL tothe shutter eyeglass device through radio communication using, forexample, infrared radiation or radio waves. The shutter control signalCTL is a coded signal for controlling an open/close operation of theshutter eyeglass device 60, and is a signal including a command set CSwhich will be described later, and is a signal in synchronization withthe left-eye picture stream and the right-eye picture stream displayedon the display 10. Note that the command set CS is configured bycombining, in predetermined order, shutter control commands CMD of oneor more kinds (in this case, two or more kinds) selected from pluralkinds of shutter control commands CMD. As will be described in detaillater, for the purpose of reducing a crosstalk phenomenon (pictureinterference) or flickers (picture flickers) when viewing a stereoscopicpicture, or the like, the shutter control section 15 is configured toperform transmission in a plurality of transmission modes. Then,different command sets CS are provided for the plurality of transmissionmodes, respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the shutter control section 15 includes ashutter control signal generation section 151, a bit pattern holdingsection 152 and a transmission section 153.

The bit pattern holding section 152 holds plural kinds of shuttercontrol commands CMD represented by a plurality of bits which will bedescribed later. More specifically, the bit pattern holding section 152holds respective bit patterns for the plural kinds of shutter controlcommands CMD and respective transmission sequences (a bit pattern of awhole command set CS) of the shutter control commands CMD for theabove-described plurality of transmission modes.

The shutter control signal generation section 151 generates the shuttercontrol signal based on the synchronization control signal Sync tosupply the shutter control signal CTL to the transmission section 153.More specifically, first, one transmission mode is selected from theplurality of transmission modes based on a duty ratio of thesynchronization control signal Sync. Then, the shutter control signalCTL including the command set CS provided for the selected transmissionmode is generated with use of the plural kinds of shutter controlcommands CMD held in the bit pattern holding section 152. An operationof generating such a shutter control signal (the command set CS) will bedescribed in detail later.

The transmission section 153 transmits the shutter control signal CTLthrough radio communication using, for example, infrared radiation orradio waves to supply the shutter control signal CTL to the shuttereyeglass device 60. More specifically, the transmission section 153repeatedly transmits the command set CS generated by the shutter controlsignal generation section 151. In this example, the transmission section153 transmits the shutter control signal CTL through radiocommunication, but may transmit the shutter control signal CTL throughcable communication.

At this time, the transmission section 153 preferably transmits theshutter control signal CTL with use of one or both of infrared lightwith a different wavelength from that of infrared light used for remotecontrol of an existing electronic device (for example, a remote controlunit (not illustrated)) and a different subcarrier frequency from asubcarrier frequency used for the remote control. More specifically, asinfrared light used for remote control of the remote control unittypically has a wavelength of approximately 940 nm and a subcarrierfrequency of approximately 40 kHz, for example, infrared light with awavelength of approximately 850 nm and a subcarrier frequency ofapproximately 25 kHz is allowed to be used as infrared light used forthe shutter control signal CTL. Therefore, an interference between theshutter control signal CTL and a remote control signal (for example, aremote control signal RS illustrated in FIG. 2) for the above-describedexisting electronic device is preventable, and external noise includedin the shutter control signal CTL is allowed to be reduced or prevented.

Specific Configuration of Shutter Eyeglass Device 60

The shutter eyeglass device 60 allows a viewer (not illustrated) of thedisplay 10 to perceive stereoscopic vision. As illustrated in FIG. 1,the shutter eyeglass device 60 includes a left-eye shutter 6L and aright-eye shutter 6R. Light-shielding states (open and close states) ofthe left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R are controlled bythe shutter control signal CTL supplied from the shutter control section15.

FIG. 5 illustrates a specific configuration example of the shuttereyeglass device 60. The shutter eyeglass device 60 includes a receptionsection 61, a determination circuit 62 (pattern-matching section), a bitpattern holding section 63 (a holding section), a shutter drive circuit64 (a drive section), the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter6R.

The reception section 61 receives the shutter control signal CTLsupplied from the transmission section 29 in the display 10 throughradio communication. In other words, the reception section 61 receivesthe above-described command set CS from the transmission section 29repeatedly transmitting the command set CS in the display 10.

The bit pattern holding section 63 holds the same bit pattern as a bitpattern formed in a command set CS which is expected (assumed) to bereceived by the reception section 61. In other words, the bit patternholding section 63 holds the same bit pattern as that of the bit patternholding section 152 in the shutter control section 15 in advance. Morespecifically, the bit pattern holding section 63 holds plural kinds ofshutter control commands CMD, and holds respective bit patterns for theplural kinds of shutter control command CMD and respective transmissionsequences (the bit patterns representing as a whole of the command setsCS) of the shutter control commands CMD for the above-describedplurality of transmission mode.

The determination circuit 62 interprets a control code (the bit patternrepresenting as a whole of the command set CS) of the shutter controlsignal CTL received by the reception section 61 to determine open/closeinstructions to the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R.More specifically, the determination circuit 62 performing patternmatching between the received bit pattern representing as a whole of thecommand set CS and the bit pattern in a corresponding transmission modeheld in the bit pattern holding section 63.

The shutter drive circuit 64 is a circuit driving the left-eye shutter6L and the right-eye shutter 6R to be opened or closed in response to asignal (a signal representing a determination result) supplied from thedetermination circuit 62. More specifically, the shutter drive circuit64 generates a left-eye shutter control signal CTLL for the left-eyeshutter 6L and a right-eye shutter control signal CTLR for the right-eyeshutter 6R to supply the left-eye shutter control signal CTLL and theright-eye shutter control signal CTLR to the left-eye shutter 6L and theright-eye shutter 6R, respectively.

The left-eye shutter 6L performs an open/close operation in response tothe left-eye shutter control signal CTLL supplied from the shutter drivecircuit 63. The right-eye shutter 6R performs an open/close operation inresponse to the right-eye shutter control signal CTLR supplied from theshutter drive circuit 63. The left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eyeshutter 6R each are configured of a light-shielding shutter such as aliquid crystal shutter.

Specific Configuration of Shutter Control Signal CTL

Next, referring to FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, a specific configuration of theshutter control signal CTL will be described below. FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6Cillustrate a configuration example of the shutter control command CMDincluded in the shutter control signal CTL. FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6Cillustrate a whole configuration example of the shutter control commandCMD, an example of a command table CT defining a relationship betweenthe description of the shutter control command CMD and the bit patternof the command bit CB, and an example of a timing waveform (a pulsewaveform) of the shutter control command CMD, respectively.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the shutter control command CMDincludes a start bit SB configured of one bit and a command bit CBconfigured of four bits (CB4 to CB1 in order from a higher-order bit toa lower-order bit).

The start bit SB functions as a preamble of the control code in theshutter control signal command CMD, and is configured of a predeterminedbit. Note that the determination circuit 62 in the shutter eyeglassdevice 60 detects the start bit SB to perform detection of the commandbit CB.

Command Bit CB

The command bit CB defines specific descriptions of plural kinds (inthis case, six kinds) of control commands CMDs, for example, asillustrated in descriptions (“A” to “F”) of the control commands CMD inthe command table CT in FIG. 6B. In other words, the command bit CBinstructs one or both of the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eyeshutter 6R in the shutter eyeglass device 60 to perform an open/closedrive.

More specifically, in this case, when the command bit CB is “1000”(CB4=“1”, CB3=“0”, CB2=“0” and CB1=“0”), the description (“A”) of theshutter control command CMD is a command for the left-eye shutter 6L toperform a closing operation (“L-Close”). Likewise, when the command bitCB is “0100”, the description (“B”) of the shutter control command CMDis a command for the left-eye shutter 6L to perform an opening operation(“L-Open”). When the command bit CB is “0010”, the description (“C”) ofthe shutter control command CMD is a command for the right-eye shutter6R to perform a closing operation (“R-Close”). When the command bit CBis “0001”, the description (“D”) of the shutter control command CMD is acommand for the right-eye shutter 6R to perform an opening operation(“R-Open”). Moreover, when the command bit CB is “1010”, the description(“E”) of the shutter control command CMD is a command for the left-eyeshutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R to perform an opening operationand a closing operation, respectively (“L-Open/R-Close”). Likewise, whenthe command bit CB is “0101”, the description (“F”) of the shuttercontrol command CMD is a command for the right-eye shutter 6R and theleft-eye shutter 6L to perform an opening operation and a closingoperation, respectively (“R-Open/L-Close”). In other words, when theshutter control command CMD is “E” or “F”, the shutter control commandCMD is a command (a complex command) allowing the left-eye shutter 6Land the right-eye shutter 6R to perform the operations. In this case,any other bit pattern in the command bit CB is not allowed to be used.

The shutter control command CMD with such a configuration has, forexample, the timing waveform (pulse waveform) illustrated in FIG. 6C (inan example when the shutter control command CMD is “B”). In other words,in this case, the start bit SB is configured of three pulses, and thebits CB4 to CB1 in the command bit CB each are configured of two pulses.Note that Tb1 and Tb2 in the drawing are a blank period Tb1 between thestart bit SB and the command bit CB and a blank period Tb2 between thecommand bit CB and a following shutter control command CMD,respectively.

Functions and Effects of Display System

Next, functions and effects of the display system 1 according to theembodiment will be described below.

1. Brief Description of Whole Operation

The signal processing section 20 generates the picture signal D1 and theaudio signal D2 based on the input signal Din including a stereoscopicpicture signal configured by alternately arranging the left-eye picturestream and the right-eye picture stream which have a parallaxtherebetween. More specifically, the digital tuner 21 of the signalprocessing section 20 selects a desired signal (stream) from broadcastwaves (the input signal Din) received by the antenna and suppliedthrough the antenna terminal TA. The MPEG decoder 22 extracts thepicture signal and the audio signal from the stream selected by thedigital tuner 21. The picture signal processing circuit 23 performspicture signal processing on the picture signal extracted by the MPEGdecoder 22, and generates the synchronization control signal Sync. Thegraphic generation circuit 24 generates OSD information, andsuperimposes the OSD information on a picture supplied from the picturesignal processing circuit 23 to generate the picture signal D1. Theaudio signal processing circuit 25 performs audio signal processing onthe audio signal extracted by the MPEG decoder 22 to generate the audiosignal D2. The display drive section 11 drives the display section 12 inresponse to the picture signal D1. The display section 12 alternatelydisplays the left-eye picture stream and the right-eye picture stream inresponse to a signal supplied from the display drive section 11. Theaudio amplification section 13 amplifies the audio signal D2, and drivesthe speaker 14. The speaker 14 outputs the audio signal as sound.

The shutter control section 15 generates the shutter control signal CTLin synchronization with displaying of the left-eye picture stream andthe right-eye picture stream on the display 10 based on thesynchronization control signal Sync supplied from the picture signalprocessing circuit 23 to supply the shutter control signal CTL to theshutter eyeglass device 60 through radio communication.

The reception section 61 of the shutter eyeglass device 60 receives theshutter control signal CTL supplied from the shutter control section 15through radio communication. The determination circuit 62 interprets thecontrol code (the bit pattern representing as a whole of the command setCS) of the shutter control signal CTL received by the reception section61 to determine the open/close instructions to the left-eye shutter 6Land the right-eye shutter 6R. More specifically, the determinationcircuit 62 performs pattern-matching between the bit patternrepresenting as a whole of the command set CS received and the bitpattern in a corresponding transmission mode which is held in the bitpattern holding section 63. The shutter drive circuit 64 generates theleft-eye shutter control signal CTLL and the right-eye shutter controlsignal CTLR based on a signal (a signal representing a determinationresult) supplied from the determination circuit 62 to supply theleft-eye shutter control signal CTLL and the right-eye shutter controlsignal CTLR to the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R,respectively. The left-eye shutter 6L performs the open/close operationin response to the left-eye shutter control signal CTLL, and theright-eye shutter 6R performs the open/close operation in response tothe right-eye shutter control signal CTLR.

FIGS. 7A and 7B schematically illustrate a whole operation of thedisplay system 1. FIG. 7A illustrates an operation when the left-eyepicture L is displayed (when display light LL is emitted), and the FIG.7B illustrates an operation when the right-eye picture R is displayed(when display light LR is emitted).

When the display 10 displays the left-eye picture L, in the shuttereyeglass device 60, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the left-eye shutter 6Lis turned into an open state, and the right-eye shutter 6R is turnedinto a close state. At this time, a viewer 9 watches the left-eyepicture L with his left eye 9L. On the other hand, when the display 10displays the right-eye picture R, in the shutter eyeglass device 60, asillustrated in FIG. 7B, the left-eye shutter 6L is turned into a closestate, and the right-eye shutter 6R is turned into an open state. Atthis time, the viewer 9 watches the right-eye picture R with his righteye 9R. When these operations are alternately repeated, as the left-eyepicture L and the right-eye picture R have a parallax therebetween, theviewer 9 is allowed to perceive a picture configured of these picturesas a stereoscopic picture with a depth.

2. Generation and Transmission/Reception of Shutter Control Signal CTL

Next, referring to FIGS. 8 to 13, the generation of the shutter controlsignal CTL by the signal processing section 20 and the shutter controlsection 15 and the transmission/reception operation of the shuttercontrol signal CTL by the shutter control section 15 and the shuttereyeglass device 60 will be described in detail below.

2-1. Operation of Generating Synchronization Control Signal Sync bySignal Processing Section 20

First, the picture signal processing circuit 23 in the signal processingsection 20 generates the synchronization control signal Sync based on,for example, information or switching timings of picture signals (aleft-eye picture signal and a right-eye picture signal), an instructionthrough a remote control signal RS from a user, or the like.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a relationship between thesynchronization control signal Sync generated in such a manner andtransmission modes or the like in the above-described shutter controlsignal CTL.

As illustrated in a part (A) in FIG. 8, the synchronization controlsignal Sync is a signal represented by binary logic. More specifically,in the synchronization control signal Sync, in a first half of onecyclic period (for example, approximately 100 ms to 4 ms), an H-periodTH in which a logical level is “H (high)” is provided, and in a latterhalf of the one cyclic period, an L-period TL in which a logical levelis “L (low)” is provided. However, as will be described later,basically, the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) (%) of the synchronization controlsignal Sync is allowed to have an arbitrary value ranging from 0% to100% (in an example illustrated in the part (A) in FIG. 8, for example,the duty ratio is approximately 48%). Moreover, the duty ratio(TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync basically definesan open duty ratio Duty (%) representing a relative open period length(open period length) of each of the left-eye shutter 6L and theright-eye shutter 6R.

Moreover, for example, as illustrated in a part (B) in FIG. 8, thetransmission modes or the like in the shutter control signal CTL aredetermined depending on the magnitude of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) (%)of the synchronization control signal Sync (the magnitude of theabove-described open duty ratio Duty (%) of the left-eye shutter 6L andthe right-eye shutter 6R). In other words, a plurality of transmissionmodes correspond to duty ratio sections ΔDuty1 to ΔDuty3 sectioned bydividing a range of the open duty ratio Duty (%) (the range of the dutyratio (TH/Tsync) (%) of the synchronization control signal Sync).

More specifically, in this case, when the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of thesynchronization control signal Sync is within a range from 5% to smallerthan 44% (a duty ratio section ΔDuty1), the transmission mode is turnedinto a transmission mode A (5%≦Duty<44%) which will be described later.Moreover, when the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization controlsignal Sync is within a range from 45% to 55% both inclusive (a dutyratio section ΔDuty2), the transmission mode is turned into atransmission mode B (Duty=50%) which will be described later. When theduty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync iswithin a range from larger than 56% to 95% (a duty ratio sectionΔDuty3), the transmission mode is turned into a transmission mode C(56%<Duty≦95%) which will be described later. In other words, in thetransmission modes A and C, the value of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) ofthe synchronization control signal Sync is equal to the value of theopen duty ratio Duty (the open duty ratio Duty is a variable value). Onthe other hand, in the transmission mode B, irrespective of the value ofthe duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync,the value of the open duty ratio Duty is a fixed value (50%).

When the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signalSync is smaller than 5% or larger than 95%, the mode is turned into amode where a suspension/end process which will be described later isperformed. Moreover, the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync is within a range from 44% to smaller than 45%, orwithin a range from larger than 55% to 56%, the mode is turned into amode where a mixed area process which will be described later isperformed.

The duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync isset by the picture signal processing circuit 23 in such a manner basedon information or switching timings of the picture signals, aninstruction through a remote control signal RS from a user, or the liketo generate the synchronization control signal Sync.

2-2. Operation of generating and transmitting shutter control signal CTLby shutter control section 15

Next, the shutter control section 15 generates the command set CSconfigured by combining, in predetermined order, shutter controlcommands CMD of one or more kinds (herein, two kinds) selected from theabove-described plurality of shutter control commands CMD based on thesynchronization control signal Sync generated in such a manner. Then,the generated command set CS is repeatedly transmitted to the shuttereyeglass device 60 to perform an operation of transmitting the shuttercontrol signal CTL.

Specifically, the shutter control signal generation section 151 in theshutter control section 15 generates the shutter control signal CTLbased on the synchronization control signal Sync to supply the shuttercontrol signal CTL to the transmission section 153. More specifically,first, the shutter control signal generation section 151 selects onetransmission mode from a plurality of transmission modes depending onthe value of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization controlsignal Sync (or selects one of the above-described other process modesin some cases). In other words, for example, as illustrated in the part(B) in FIG. 8, when the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync is within a range from 5% to smaller than 44%, thetransmission mode A (5%≦Duty<44%) is selected. Likewise, when the dutyratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync is within arange from 45% to 55% both inclusive, the transmission mode B (Duty=50%)is selected. When the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync is with a range from larger than 56% to 95%, thetransmission mode C (56%<Duty≦95%) is selected.

Next, the shutter control signal generation section 151 generates theshutter control signal CTL including the command set CS provided for theselected transmission mode which will be described later referring toFIGS. 10 to 13 with use of the plural kinds of shutter control commandsCMD held in the bit pattern holding section 152. At this time, theshutter control signal generation section 151 sets the bit pattern ofthe command set CS (the arrangement sequence of the shutter controlcommand CMDs) so that a bit pattern representing as a whole of thecommand set CS is the same as the bit pattern held in the bit patternholding section 63 in the shutter eyeglass device 60 which will bedescribed later. Then, the shutter control signal CTL including thecommand set CS generated in such a manner is transmitted from thetransmission section 153 to the shutter eyeglass device 60.

FIG. 9 illustrates a state transition diagram of an example of a modeselection operation according to the value of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync)of the synchronization control signal Sync in the shutter control signalgeneration section 151, and corresponds to an operation illustrated inthe part (B) in FIG. 8.

First (when the power supply of the display 10 is turned on), theshutter control signal generation section 151 performs an initialdetection process of the synchronization control signal Sync (step S1 inFIG. 9). More specifically, the shutter control signal generationsection 151 determines whether the values of the frequency fsync and theduty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync arewithin predetermined ranges for performing a transmission operation (orthe mixed area process) in a steady state which will be described later(a normal state when displaying a stereoscopic picture) (thetransmission modes A to C).

More specifically, in the case where the value of the frequency fsync iswithin a range from 10 Hz to 250 Hz both inclusive, and the value of theduty ratio (TH/Tsync) is within a range of 5% to 95% both inclusive, theoperation is shifted to the following Sync duty ratio (TH/Tsync)detection process (step S2). On the other hand, when one or both of thevalues of the frequency fsync and the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) are out ofthe ranges, the initial detection process continues until both of thevalues reach the ranges.

Next, the shutter control signal generation section 151 performs adetection process of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync (step S2). Then, as described above, onetransmission mode is selected from the plurality of transmission modes Ato C according to the value of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) to perform atransmission operation. In other words, a transmission mode A process(step S3), a transmission mode B process (step S4) or a transmissionmode C process (step S5) is selected to perform the transmissionoperation. Alternatively, one of the other process modes (the mixed areaprocess (step S6) and the suspension/end process (step S7)) is performeddepending on the value of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync).

More specifically, when the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync is within a range from 5% to smaller than 44%, thetransmission mode A process (5%≦Duty<44%) is selected. Moreover, whenthe duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync iswithin a range from 45% to 55% both inclusive, the transmission mode Bprocess (Duty=50%) is selected. When the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of thesynchronization control signal Sync is within a range from larger than56% to 95%, the transmission mode C process (56%<Duty≦95%) is selected.On the other hand, when the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync is smaller than 5% or larger than 95%, thesuspension/end process is selected. Moreover, when the duty ratio(TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync is within a rangefrom 44% to smaller than 45% or within a range from larger than 55% to56%, the mixed area process is selected.

Operation in Steady State

The transmission operation in the steady state (the transmission modes Ato C) will be described in detail below.

FIG. 10 illustrates a timing chart of an operation example in the steadystate. In FIG. 10 (and FIGS. 12 and 13 which will be described later),parts (A) and (D) indicate an operation in the transmission mode Aprocess, parts (B) and (E) indicate an operation in the transmissionmode B process, and parts (C) and (F) indicate an operation in thetransmission mode C process. Moreover, the parts (A) to (C) indicatetiming waveforms (pulse waveforms) of the left-eye shutter controlsignal CTLL and the right-eye shutter control signal CTLR generatedbased on the shutter control signal CTL, the description (correspondingto “A” to “F” in FIG. 6B) of the shutter control command CMD included inthe shutter control signal CTL and the timing waveform (pulse waveform)of the synchronization control signal Sync in order from the top in thedrawing. On the other hand, the parts (D) to (F) indicate thearrangement sequence along a time axis of each shutter control commandCMD configuring the command set CS, the descriptions (“A” to “F”) of theshutter control commands CMD, and logical values of bits (CB4 to CB1) ofthe command bit CB. However, for the sake of simplification of thedrawing, in “E” and “F” in the shutter control commands,“L-Open/R-Close” and “R-Open/L-Close” in FIG. 6B are represented by“L-O/R-C” and “R-O/L-C”, respectively. Likewise, as the logical valuesof the bits CB4 to CB1 of the command bit CB, only “1” is illustrated,and “0” is not illustrated. As illustrated in the parts (A) to (C), inthis case, when the left-eye shutter control signal CTLL is in a “H”level, the left-eye shutter 6L is turned into an open state, and whenthe left-eye shutter control signal CTLL is in a “L” level, the left-eyeshutter 6L is turned into a close state. Likewise, when the right-eyeshutter control signal CTLR is in an “H” level, the right-eye shutter 6Ris turned into an open state, and when the right-eye shutter controlsignal CTLR is in an “L” level, the right-eye shutter 6R is turned intoa close state

First, in the transmission mode A process illustrated in the parts (A)and (D) in FIG. 10, the open duty ratio Duty is within a range of5%≦open duty ratio Duty<44%, so “B” (L-Open), “A” (L-Close), “D”(R-Open) and “C” (R-Close) as the shutter control commands CMD arerepeated in this order. Therefore, as illustrated in the part (D) inFIG. 10 and FIG. 11A, the command set CS at this time includes fourshutter control commands CMD in order of “B”, “A”, “D” and “C”. Then,the bit pattern representing as a whole of the command set CS is“0100100000010010” as illustrated in FIG. 11A.

Moreover, in the transmission mode B process illustrated in the parts(B) and (E) in FIG. 10, as the open duty Duty is 50%, as illustrated inthe part (B) in FIG. 10, operation switching of the left-eye shutter 6Land the right-eye shutter 6R is performed at the same timing. Therefore,in the transmission mode B process, complex commands are used, and “E”(L-Open/R-Close) and “F” (R-Open/L-Close) as the shutter controlcommands CMD are repeated in this order. Therefore, the command set CSat this time is configured by alternately arranging two shutter controlcommands CMD (two complex commands) in order of “E” and “F” asillustrated in the part (E) in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11A. Then, the bitpattern representing as a whole of the command set CS is “10100101” asillustrated in FIG. 11B.

Further, in the transmission mode C process illustrated in the parts (C)and (F) in FIG. 10, the open duty ratio Duty is within a range of56%<open duty ratio Duty≦95%, so “B” (L-Open), “C” (R-Close), “D”(R-Open) and “A” (L-Close) as the shutter control commands CMD arerepeated in this order. Therefore, the command set CS at this time isconfigured by arranging four shutter control commands CMD in order of“B”, “C”, “D” and “A” as illustrated in the part (F) in FIG. 10 and FIG.11C. Then, the bit pattern representing as a whole of the command set CSis “0100001000011000” as illustrated in FIG. 11C.

In the embodiment, respective command sets CS configured of differentbit patterns are generated for a plurality of transmission modes (inthis case, three transmission modes A to C), and the command sets CS areincluded in the shutter control signal CTL and are repeatedlytransmitted.

Operation in Start Process

Next, an operation in a predetermined start process which is notillustrated in the part (B) in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 will be describedbelow. The start process is a process performed when the power supply ofthe display 10 is turned on or when the display 10 changes its displaymode from a two-dimensional display mode to a three-dimensional(stereoscopic picture) display mode.

More specifically, for example, as illustrated in parts (A) to (C) inFIG. 12, a transmission operation in each transmission mode process (thetransmission mode A process, the transmission mode B process, thetransmission mode C process) in the start process is basically the sameas the transmission operation in the steady state illustrated in theparts (A) to (C) in FIG. 10. In other words, the bit pattern of thecommand set CS in each transmission mode is the same as that in thesteady state illustrated in FIGS. 11A to 11C. However, as illustrated inthe parts (A) to (C) in FIG. 12, before changing to thethree-dimensional display mode (in the two-dimensional display mode),both of the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R are in anopen state.

In the start process, when the shutter eyeglass device 60 determinesthat the bit pattern in the command set CS is repeatedly received aplurality of times, the shutter eyeglass device 60 recognizes aninstruction for changing the display mode, and starts an operation inthe three-dimensional display mode.

Operation in Mixed Area Process

Next, an operation in the mixed area process (step S6 in FIG. 9) will bedescribed below. The mixed area process is a process which is basicallynot used, but if the operation is changed to this process according tothe value of the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization controlsignal Sync, the operation is performed as follows. In the mixed areaprocess, the bit pattern of the command set CS is not changed from apreceding transmission mode process (the transmission mode A process,the transmission mode B process or the transmission mode C process), andonly the transmission timing of the shutter control command CMD is setaccording to the value of the open duty ratio Duty.

Operation in Suspension/End Process

Next, an operation in the suspension/end process (step S7 in FIG. 9)will be described in detail below. The suspension/end process is, forexample, a process performed when the display 10 changes its displaymode from the three-dimensional (stereoscopic) display mode to thetwo-dimensional display mode.

As illustrated in the part (B) in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the suspension/endprocess is performed when the H-period TH is not sequentially detectedin a certain period (for example, 100 ms) or over in the synchronizationcontrol signal Sync in addition to when the duty ratio (TH/Tsync) of thesynchronization control signal Sync is smaller than 5% or larger than95%. In other words, the shutter control signal generation section 151determines the generation and transmission of a stop command set SCfwhich will be described later based on a value or a logical level of theduty ratio (TH/Tsync) of the synchronization control signal Sync in thesync duty ratio (TH/Tsync) detection process (step S2 in FIG. 9). Thestop command set CSf is configured with use of some of the plural kindsof the shutter control commands CMD, and is a command set for stoppingopen/close drive of the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6Rso that the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R are in anopen state.

Specifically, for example, as illustrated in parts (A) to (C) in FIG.13, the shutter control signal generation section 151 performs thegeneration/transmission operation of the stop command set CSf. In otherwords, while maintaining the setting of the transmission timings of theshutter control commands CMD depending on the value of the open dutyratio Duty in a preceding transmission mode process (the transmissionmode A process, the transmission mode B process or the transmission modeC process), a common stop command set CSf to the transmission modes isgenerated.

More specifically, at this time, “D” (R-Open) and “D” (R-Open) as theshutter control commands CMD are repeated in this order a plurality oftimes (in this case, ten times). Therefore, as illustrated in the parts(A) to (F) in FIG. 13, in the stop command set CSf, a combination of twoshutter control commands CMD of the same kind, that is, “D” and “D” isrepeated 10 times (that is, “D” is repeated 20 times). Then, the bitpattern representing as a whole of the command set CS is 10-timesrepetition of “00010001” as illustrated in FIG. 11C. When two commandsof the same kind are combined into one set, and the set is transmitted aplurality of times (10 times), resistance to external noise is allowedto be increased; therefore, a malfunction is preventable. Morespecifically, a possibility that due to external noise, “B”, “A” and “C”with different cycles are lost and only “D” is repeatedly transmittedwhile “B”, “A”, “D” and “C” are transmitted in the steady state is muchreduced. Therefore, highly reliable communication between a transmissionside and a reception side is achievable. In this case, the stop commandset CSf configured by repeating “D” (R-Open) as the shutter controlcommand CMD a plurality of times is described as an example; however,the stop command set CSf may be configured by repeating any other one ofthe plural kinds of shutter control commands CMD a plurality of times.

Thus, in the embodiment, the shutter control section 15 generates thecommand set CS (or the command set Csf, the same applies hereinafter)configured by combining, in predetermined order, the shutter controlcommands CMD of one or more kinds selected from the plural kinds of theshutter control commands CMD based on the synchronization control signalSync. Then, the transmission operation of the shutter control signal CTLis performed by repeatedly transmitting the generated command set CS tothe shutter eyeglass device 60. Moreover, at this time, the bit patternof the command set CS is set so that the bit pattern representing as awhole of the command set CS is the same as the bit pattern held in theshutter eyeglass device 60 which will be described later.

2-3. Reception Operation of Shutter Control Signal CTL by ShutterEyeglass Device 60

Next, in the shutter eyeglass device 60, the reception section 61receives the shutter control signal CTL including the command set CSwhich is repeatedly transmitted from the shutter control section 15 insuch a manner. Then, the determination circuit 62 interprets the controlcode (the bit pattern representing as a whole of the command set CS) ofthe received shutter control signal CTL to determine the open/closeinstructions to the left-eye shutter 6L and the right-eye shutter 6R.More specifically, the determination circuit 62 performspattern-matching between the bit pattern representing as a whole of thecommand set CS received and the bit pattern in a correspondingtransmission mode held in the bit pattern holding section 63.

More specifically, in the embodiment, the bit pattern holding section 63holds the same bit pattern as the bit pattern representing as a whole ofthe command set CS which is expected (assumed) to be received by thereception section 61. In other words, the bit pattern holding sectionholds the same bit pattern as that of the bit pattern holding section152 in the shutter control section 15 in advance. More specifically, inthe command set CS repeatedly transmitted from the display 10, the bitpattern representing as a whole of the command set CS is the same as thebit pattern held in the shutter eyeglass device 60. Therefore, when theshutter control signal CTL including the command set CS is transmittedfrom the transmission side (the display 10) to the reception side (theshutter eyeglass device 60), the shutter eyeglass device 60 easilydetermines whether the command set CS includes external noise.

The determination circuit 62 performs pattern-matching between the bitpatterns in the following manner. First, when switching the transmissionmode or the like, the determination circuit 62 determines that theshutter control signal CTL including a normal command set CS is receivedwhen it is sequentially confirmed that the bit patterns of a pluralityof command sets CS are the same as the bit pattern held in the bitpattern holding section 63. On the other hand, in the case where thereceived command set CS includes a bit pattern different from the bitpattern held in the bit pattern holding section 63, the determinationcircuit 62 determines that the shutter control signal CTL including thecommand set CS includes external noise. Note that after every switchingthe transmission mode, the determination circuit 62 performspattern-matching between the bit pattern of each command set CS and thebit pattern held in the bit pattern holding section 63.

Alternatively, for example, the determination circuit 62 may performdetermination on the received command set CS in the following manner. Inthe case where more than 2 bits (3 bits or more) of “1” in the commandbit CB (CB4 to CB1) configured of four bits are received, the bitpattern of the command bit CB is different from any of the shuttercontrol commands CMD illustrated in FIG. 6B; therefore, thedetermination circuit 62 determines that the shutter control signal CTLincludes external noise. Moreover, in the case where any other bitpattern is received without receiving the start bit SB functioning as apreamble, the determination circuit 62 determines that the shuttercontrol signal CTL includes external noise. In these cases, for example,the received command set CS is cancelled, and the open/close operationsof shutters in the shutter eyeglass device 60 are performed(self-performed) according to the command set CS received immediatelybefore receiving the cancelled command set CS. Moreover, in the casewhere the transmission of the shutter control signal CTL from thedisplay 10 is interrupted, for example, the open/close operations of theshutters in the shutter eyeglass device 60 are self-performed for acertain period (for example, a few seconds), and after that, the shuttereyeglass device 60 is turned into a standby state.

Moreover, in the command sets CS (except for the stop command set CSf)in the embodiment, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 13, theposition of a bit indicating “1” (indicating an effective state) isinevitably changed from a shutter control command CMD to an adjacentshutter control command CMD in order from a higher-order bit to alower-order bit or from a lower-order bit to a high-order bit.Alternatively, in the case of two complex commands, adjacent bits arechanged. Thus, in the command set CS, the position of a bit representing“1” is set to be changed from a shutter control command CMD to anadjacent shutter control command CMD with predetermined regularity. Morespecifically, in this case, in adjacent shutter control commands CMDs,“1” is not placed in the same bit position. Therefore, when the commandset CS configured of such a bit pattern is transmitted and received, aneffect of easily determining that a bit which is not placed with theregularity is noise is obtained.

Further, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the stop command setCSf in the embodiment has a bit pattern in which basically the shuttercontrol command CMD of one and the same kind is repeated at differentintervals (timings). Therefore, when the stop command set CSf configuredof such a bit pattern is transmitted and received, an effect of allowinga malfunction due to a loss of the shutter control command CMD in thesteady state to be prevented is obtained.

As described above, in the embodiment, in the command set CS repeatedlytransmitted from the shutter control section 15 in the displayl0, thebit pattern representing as a whole of the command set CS is the same asthe bit pattern held in the shutter eyeglass device 60; therefore, whenthe shutter control signal CTL including the command set CS istransmitted from the transmission side (the display 10) to the receptionside (the shutter eyeglass device 60), the reception side is allowed toeasily determine whether the command set CS includes external noise.Therefore, the influence of such external noise is allowed to be reducedor prevented easily, and highly reliable communication between thetransmission side and the reception side is achievable.

Modifications

Next, modifications (Modifications 1 and 2) of the above-describedembodiment will be described below. Note that like components aredenoted by like numerals as of the above-described embodiment and willnot be further described.

Modification 1

FIG. 14 illustrates a whole configuration of a display system (a displaysystem 1A) according to Modification 1. As in the case of the displaysystem 1 according to the embodiment, the display system 1A is astereoscopic display system performing stereoscopic display. The displaysystem 1A includes a display 10A, a transmitter 7 including the shuttercontrol section 15 and the shutter eyeglass device 60. In other words,in the display system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, theshutter control section 15 as the transmitter (the transmission section)is incorporated in the display 10; however, in the display system 1A,the shutter control section 15 is arranged outside the display 10A(externally arranged). Note that other configurations are the same asthose in the above-described embodiment.

The transmitter 7 and the shutter eyeglass device 60 correspond tospecific examples of “a transmission/reception system” in the invention.

As in the case of the modification, even in the display system 1A inwhich the shutter control section as the transmitter (the transmissionsection) is arranged separately from the display 10A, and thetransmission/reception system, the same effects as those in theabove-described embodiment are obtainable by the same function as thosein the above-described embodiment.

Modification 2

FIG. 15 illustrates a whole configuration of a display system (a displaysystem 2) according to Medication 2. The display system 2 is amulti-view system for a plurality of viewers to watch different picturesdisplayed on one display 10. In other words, the above-describedembodiment and the above-described Modification 1 each are astereoscopic display system alternately displaying a left-eye picturestream and a right-eye picture stream which have a parallax therebetweenas plural kinds of pictures in a time-divisional manner. On the otherhand, the modification is a multi-view system alternately displaying aplurality of different kinds of pictures in a time-divisional manner.

In the modification, a shutter eyeglass device is different from that inthe above-described embodiment and Modification 1. More specifically, inthe above-described embodiment (refer to FIG. 1) and Modification 1(refer to FIG. 14), the open/close operations of the right-eye shutter6R and the left-eye shutter 6L are separately instructed. On the otherhand, in the modification, the open/close operations of a plurality ofshutter eyeglass devices are instructed from one shutter eyeglass deviceto another (from one pair of the right-eye shutter and the left-eyeshutter to another). Other configurations are the same as those in theabove-described embodiment. The multi-view system for two viewers willbe described below as an example.

Configuration of Display System 2

The display system 2 according to the modification includes the display10 and two shutter eyeglass devices 60A and 60B as illustrated in FIG.15.

The display 10 is the same as the display 10 (refer to FIG. 2) accordingto the above-described embodiment, but the input signal Din is differentfrom that in the embodiment. In other words, the display 10 displayspictures on the display section 12 based on the input signal Dinincluding a picture signal for two viewers. In this case, the picturesignal for two viewers is a picture signal configured by alternatelyarranging a picture for one viewer and a picture for the other viewer.The shutter control section 15 of the display 10 generates the shuttercontrol signal CTL based on the synchronization control signal Syncsupplied from the signal processing section 20 to supply the shuttercontrol signal CTL to the shutter eyeglass devices 60A and 60B throughradio communication using, for example, infrared radiation or electricwaves.

The shutter eyeglass devices 60A and 60B allow two viewers (notillustrated) to watch two different pictures displayed on the display10, respectively. The shutter eyeglass device 60A includes a pair ofshutters 6A and the shutter eyeglass device 60B includes a pair ofshutters 6B. The opening and closing of the pair of shutters 6A arecontrolled simultaneously by the shutter control signal CTL, andlikewise, opening and closing of the pair of shutters 6B are controlledsimultaneously by the shutter control signal CTL.

By the above-described configuration, the open/close operations of theshutters 6A of the shutter eyeglass device 60A and the shutters 6B ofthe shutter eyeglass device 60B are performed in synchronization withswitching of a picture for a viewer 9A and a picture for a viewer 9Bwhich are displayed on the display 10 in a time-divisional manner.

Functions and Effects of Display System 2

FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a whole operation of the displaysystem 2. FIG. 16A illustrates an operation when the picture A for theviewer 9A is displayed (when display light LA is emitted) and FIG. 16Billustrates an operation when the picture B for the viewer 9B isdisplayed (when display light LB is emitted).

In the case where the picture A is displayed on the display 10, asillustrated in FIG. 16A, the shutters 6A of the shutter eyeglass device60A are turned into an open state, and the shutters 6B of the shuttereyeglass device 60B are turned into a close state. At this time, theviewer 9A watches the picture A. On the other hand, when the picture Bis displayed on the display 10, as illustrated in FIG. 16B, the shutters6A of the shutter eyeglass device 60A are turned into a close state, andthe shutters 6B of the shutter eyeglass device 60B are turned into anopen state. At this time, the viewer 9B watches the picture B. Whenthese operations are alternately performed, the picture A is viewable bythe viewer 9A, and the picture B is viewable by the viewer 9B. In otherwords, a multi-view system in which a plurality of viewers are allowedto watch a plurality of pictures displayed on one display, respectively,is achievable.

Thus, even in the multi-view system as in the case of the display system2 according to the modification, the same effects as those in theabove-described embodiment and Modification 1 are obtainable by the samefunctions as those in the above-described embodiment and the like.

Other Modifications

Although the present invention is described referring to the embodimentand the modifications, the invention is not limited thereto, and may bevariously modified.

For example, the configurations or kinds of the synchronization controlsignal Sync, the shutter control command CMD, the command set CS and thestop command set SCf and the bit patterns thereof, and the transmissionmodes are not limited to those described above, and other configurationsor the like may be used.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment and the like, as the displaysection, the liquid crystal display is used, but the display section isnot limited thereto. For example, instead of the liquid crystal display,an EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, a plasma display or a projector byDLP (Digital Light Processing) may be used.

Moreover, for example, the shutter eyeglass device may support both ofthe stereoscopic display system and the multi-view system by switchingmodes.

In addition, the processes described in the above-described embodimentand the like may be performed by hardware (a circuit) or software (aprogram).

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A display apparatus, comprising: a command generator to generateshutter control commands to control a shutter glass device for viewing acontent displayed on the display apparatus, the shutter glass deviceincluding a first shutter and a second shutter, wherein the shuttercontrol commands include a command to simultaneously perform operationsof open the first shutter and close the second shutter.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the command generator generates thecommand to simultaneously perform the operations of open the firstshutter and close the second shutter when a duty ratio representing aratio of respective open periods for the first shutter and secondshutter is 50%.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein thecommand to simultaneously perform the operations of open the firstshutter and close the second shutter is defined by four command bits. 4.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command generator isresponsive to a synchronization control signal, and the commandgenerator generates the command to simultaneously perform the operationsof open the first shutter and close the second shutter when a duty ratioof the synchronization control signal is within a range of 45% to 55%.5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command generator isoperable to generate one or more command sequences each comprising aplurality of the shutter control commands.
 6. The apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein each of the plurality of shutter control commands ofeach of the one or more command sequences is defined by four commandbits.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein one of the commandsequences is a stop sequence that is generated to command simultaneousperformance of operations of open the first shutter and open the secondshutter.
 8. A shutter glass device for viewing a content displayed on adisplay, the device comprising: a first shutter and a second shutter;and a determination circuit to interpret received shutter controlcommands, wherein the shutter control commands include a command tosimultaneously perform operations of open the first shutter and closethe second shutter.
 9. The device according to claim 8, wherein theshutter glass device receives the command to simultaneously perform theoperations of open the first shutter and close the second shutter when aduty ratio representing a ratio of respective open periods for the firstshutter and second shutter is 50%.
 10. The device according to claim 9,wherein the command to simultaneously perform the operations of open thefirst shutter and close the second shutter is defined by four commandbits.
 11. The device according to claim 8, wherein the shutter controlcommands are generated in response to a synchronization control signal,and the command to simultaneously perform the operations of open thefirst shutter and close the second shutter is generated when a dutyratio of the synchronization control signal is within a range of 45% to55%.
 12. The device according to claim 8, wherein the determinationcircuit is operable to interpret one or more command sequences eachcomprising a plurality of the shutter control commands, and wherein eachof the plurality of shutter control commands of each of the one or morecommand sequences is defined by four command bits.
 13. The deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein the determination circuit is operable tointerpret one or more command sequences each comprising a plurality ofthe shutter control commands, and wherein the determination circuit isoperable to interpret repeated transmission of one of the commandsequences as a stop indication.
 14. A display system, comprising: ashutter glass device for viewing a content displayed on a display, theshutter glass device including a first shutter and a second shutter; anda command generator to generate shutter control commands to control theshutter glass device, wherein the shutter control commands include acommand to simultaneously perform operations of open the first shutterand close the second shutter
 15. The system according to claim 14,wherein the command generator generates the command to simultaneouslyperform the operations of open the first shutter and close the secondshutter when a duty ratio representing a ratio of respective openperiods for the first shutter and second shutter is 50%.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the command to simultaneously perform theoperations of open the first shutter and close the second shutter isdefined by four command bits.
 17. The system according to claim 14,wherein the command generator is responsive to a synchronization controlsignal, and the command generator generates the command tosimultaneously perform the operations of open the first shutter andclose the second shutter when a duty ratio of the synchronizationcontrol signal is within a range of 45% to 55%.
 18. A display method,comprising: generating shutter control commands to control a shutterglass device for viewing a content displayed on a display, the shutterglass device including a first shutter and a second shutter, wherein theshutter control commands include a command to simultaneously performoperations of open the first shutter and close the second shutter. 19.The method according to claim 18, wherein the command to simultaneouslyperform the operations of open the first shutter and close the secondshutter is generated when a duty ratio representing a ratio ofrespective open periods for the first shutter and second shutter is 50%.20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the command tosimultaneously perform the operations of open the first shutter andclose the second shutter is defined by four command bits.